Pasadena

Pasadena is probably most famous for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game. Yet, the city is also home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the world-renowned California Institute of Technology, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Art Center College of Design, the Pasadena Playhouse, California School of Culinary Arts Pasadena and the Norton Simon Museum of Art.

Located just 15 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, the city’s popular shops and restaurants blend comfortably with tree-lined streets, distinctive neighborhoods, historic buildings and a vibrant cultural scene.

Old Town Pasadena features a cosmopolitan mix of of trendy boutiques and stylish restaurants. Most of the historic buildings dating back to the 1880s and 1890s have been restored and the street-front shops maintain their appeal to the hundreds who stroll the sidewalks each day. Old Pasadena abounds with night clubs, bars, over 50 restaurants and countless specialty shops. You can find all genres of live music plus dancing, comedy, and billiards.

Pasadena retains a high-profile image throughout southern California due to its broad economic base, noted cultural, scientific, and educational institutions, and shopping and dining establishments that attract customers from all over the region. This, along with Pasadena’s many fine examples of architecture and wealthy neighborhoods, provide Pasadena with a prominence enjoyed by few cities in the Los Angeles area, and is often considered the premiere city of the San Gabriel Valley.

HISTORY

Pasadena was once occupied by the Hahamogna Tribe of Native Americans. Subsisting on local game and vegetation, the Hahamognas lived in villages scattered along the Arroyo Seco and the canyons from the mountains down to the South Pasadena area. With the arrival of the Spaniards and the establishment of the San Gabriel Mission on September 8, 1771, most of the Native Americans were converted and provided labor for the mission.

The San Gabriel Mission, the fourth in California, grew to be prosperous, with abundant orchards, vineyards and herds. The vast lands which it administered for the Spanish Crown were divided into ranchos. After the rule of California passed from Spain to Mexico, the Mexican government in 1833 secularized the mission lands and awarded them to individuals. The northeast corner of San Gabriel Mission, consisting of the 14,000 acres known as Rancho el Rincon de San Pascual, changed ownership several times before being granted on November 28, 1843, by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to his good friend, Colonel Manuel Garfias, son of a distinguished Mexican family.

In 1852, two years after California was admitted as a state to the Union, Garfias built an adobe hacienda on the east bank of the Arroyo, where he and his family proceeded to live in grand style, until he could not meet the interest payment due on a loan. Title to the land was then transferred in 1859 to his lenders, Dr. John S. Griffin and Benjamin “Don Benito” Wilson.

A group of investors from Indiana called the San Gabriel Orange Grove Association purchased 4000 acres of the Rancho San Pasqual from Griffin and Wilson in December 1873. In January 1874, the new settlement was divided among the settlers and mapped. Generously sized parcels which were intended for the planting of orange groves were arranged on either side of the north-south axis of the colony, a street soon known as Orange Grove Boulevard. The San Gabriel Orange Grove Association lands extended from north of what is today Mountain Avenue south to the Monterey Hills and from the Arroyo on the west to Fair Oaks Avenue on the east. Houses for the new residents began to be built on the parcels, the first of which was the A. O. Bristol home near the corner of Orange Grove and Lincoln Avenue, finished in March 1874. By the end of 1875, there were 40 houses set among orchards, groves and vineyards. It was that year that the stockholders of the San Gabriel Orange Grove Association voted to name their town Pasadena.

Growth of Pasadena proceeded steadily, and the center of the town shifted from Orange Grove and California to the intersection of Colorado and Fair Oaks, where a post office was opened in J. D. Hollingsworth’s general store. Homes, churches, schools, and commercial establishments were constructed, with extensive tracts planted with citrus and other fruit bearing trees and grapevines. By 1880, Pasadena had a population of nearly 400.

In 1886 Pasadena incorporated, largely as a measure to rid the city of its saloon. In the ensuing decade, amenities such as sewers, paved streets, and electric street lighting were installed. On January 1, 1890, the Valley Hunt Club initiated a mid-winter festival with a procession of flower-bedecked horses and carriages. This became a yearly tradition that in 1898 was formally sponsored by the Tournament of Roses Association. An added tourist attraction was the Echo Mountain incline railway which opened in 1893 and included a mountain chalet resort and the Alpine Tavern at Crystal Springs.

In the early 1900’s more grand hotels were built. The city government was reorganized and in 1901 Pasadena became a charter city with an elected mayor. The city population grew from 9,117 in 1900 to 30,291 by 1910. The population included Chinese and Mexicans, who were brought in to work on the railroads, and Blacks, who moved in and started small businesses or worked as servants in the big houses and hotels. The area of the city increased through annexations, first of sections to the north and east, then in 1914 San Rafael Heights and Linda Vista, which had been physically linked to the city by the Colorado Street Bridge in 1913. Some of the best architects settled in Pasadena, which became known for its fine architecture, particularly the Craftsman style, perfected by Greene and Greene.

By 1950 the population was 104,777. In the mid-’40’s and early ’50’s, to relieve the housing shortage, new housing tracks were opened in the Linda Vista, San Rafael and Allendale areas and to the east in the Hastings Ranch and Coronet areas. Retail sales showed a steady increase and in 1947 the opening of Bullock’s heralded what was to become an exclusive shopping area on South Lake Avenue. A new shopping center opened in Hastings Ranch in 1956.

An awakened respect for the city’s architectural treasures led to the renovation of historic homes and buildings throughout the city. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Old Pasadena, where the city’s business district first started. Revitalization of this area occurred throughout the eighties, and culminated at the end of 1992 with the completion of the One Colorado historic block. Transformed into a restaurant and entertainment center, Old Pasadena has become a major attraction in Southern California.

OLD PASADENA TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY
The day after Thanksgiving, One Colorado Courtyard and Old Pasadena host a festive celebration culminating in a tree lighting ceremony and Mr. Claus visiting with the kids. (626) 666-4156

There are many specialized neighborhoods in Pasadena, each with its unique personality. Here is some information on a few of them:

Bungalow Heaven
Pasadena’s first historic district is a rare and mostly intact collection of over 800 homes built from the 1900s through the 1930s. You’ll find bungalows in many styles—Dutch Colonial, Tudor, and Spanish. Bungalow Heaven experienced a surge of restoration activity beginning in the late 1970s, so a majority of the houses have now been refurbished in authentic historical style. Boundaries: Washington Boulevard on the north, Orange Grove on the south, Mentor Avenue on the west, Holliston Avenue on the east.

Garfield Heights
Garfield Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the City of Pasadena, with an intact collection of houses built mostly from the late nineteenth-century through the 1920’s. It is also the second official Historic Landmark District in Pasadena, bounded generally by N. Garfield Avenue on the east, N. Marengo Avenue on the west, E. Washington Boulevard on the North, and E. Mountain Street on the south. Properties on both sides of Garfield and Marengo avenues are included in the district. It includes some properties on the south side of Washington. No properties with addresses on Mountain Street are included. Although some homes were built by notable builders, it’s an eclectic area ranging from Craftsman bungalows to historic two and four unit apartments. Each home reflects a sense of charm and grace, including distinctive architectural features like pillars, retaining walls, and foundations made of river rock. It is a small fragment of the original acreage which was bound by Woodbury, Arroyo, Lake and Villa.

Hastings Heights
This elite neighborhood in Northeast Pasadena overlooks Hastings Ranch and the Eaton Canyon Nature Reserve. It offers new estate homes constructed on a grand scale with all modern amenities.

Hastings Ranch
Hastings Ranch features mostly 1950s ranch style homes with mountain views and tree lined streets. Upper Hastings Ranch has become one of the most popular areas for neighborhood outdoor Christmas displays. The Hastings community has remained educated, affluent and mobile, with a large number of professionals. Upper Hastings Ranch Boundaries: Ranch Top Road on the north, Sierra Madre Blvd. on the South, Eaton Canyon Golf Course on the west, Michellinda Ave. on the east. Lower Hastings Ranch Boundaries: Michilinda on the East, Sierra Madre Boulevard on the North, Rosemead/Sierra Madre Villa on the west and Sears Way on the south.

Historic Highlands
The Historic Highlands Neighborhood, a designated Landmark District, is situated between New York Blvd. on the north, Washington Blvd. on the south, Lake Ave. on the west, and Hill Ave. on the east. The approximately 730 homes find architectural inspiration from all over the world, including Craftsman, Prairie, Japonaiserie, Mission and Colonial. Historic Highlands is a vibrant neighborhood, with many community activities reinforcing and encouraging a strong bond between neighbors.

Linda Vista / Annandale
The Linda Vista-Annandale Area consists of roughly 2.5 square miles, extending from the west bank of the Arroyo Seco to the ridge of the Linda Vista Hills, and from the Devil’s Gate Dam on the north to Colorado Boulevard on the south. The quiet, lushly wooded residential community, was first annexed by Pasadena in 1914 and is now one of Pasadena’s most sought after communities. The approximately 1,350 homes in the Linda Vista area are known for their eclectic architecture, ranging from sprawling ranch-style properties to Mediterranean villas. Many homes in this neighborhood have outstanding views of the San Gabriel foothills or the Arroyo Seco.

Madison Heights
The Madison Heights neighborhood, next door to the South Lake Avenue District, was largely developed between 1910 and 1917, when it consisted of family homes of professional people. The entire area is flowing with tree-lined streets. The homes here vary but there is a large presence of craftsmen homes and cottages. There are also various upscale condominium and town home complexes – some as old as 50 years and others as young as 5 years old. Madison Heights is known for its strong sense of community and hosts events such as a 4th of July Parade.

Oak Knoll
Oak Knoll is bordered by E. California Blvd. to the north, S. Los Robles Ave. on the west and covers an area which is split by the winding South Oak Knoll Avenue. The grand estates in this neighborhood were built to showcase the beautiful native oaks growing in the area before the turn of the 20th century. The most famous estate in the area is the former Ritz Carlton, now Langham Hotel & Spa. Oak Knoll boasts the architecture of the famous Greene & Greene brothers, Sylvanus Marston and Wallace Neff.

Orange Heights
Orange Heights was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It is bounded to the West by Los Robles Avenue, to the East by El Molino Avenue, to the North by Jackson Street, and to the South by Mountain Boulevard. Orange Heights, which was once known as “Pill Hill” because of the large number of physicians and care givers who lived in the neighborhood, still appears today much as it did over eighty years ago. Homeowners are attracted by the beautiful architecture, terraced yards, tree lined streets, and mountain views.

Prospect Park
Prospect Park is a tiny neighborhood just north of the 134 Freeway and west of 210, off of Orange Grove and Prospect Boulevards. The Prospect Park area was a tract built in 1906 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, Beautiful and mature camphor trees create a shady arch over the wide boulevard as you enter from Orange Grove. This neighborhood showcases a collection of Greene & Greene houses, the Gamble House and Frank Lloyd Wright’s La Miniatura.

San Rafael
The San Rafael neighborhood, south of the 134 freeway and west of the Arroyo, was developed in the 1940s as new residences that reflected the upper middle class and very wealthy families. This sought after community features many secluded, hillside properties, including some dramatic contemporaries, with sweeping vistas of the city, mountains and arroyo below.

Washington Square
This historic district encompasses approximately 250 homes built mainly between 1910 and 1940. Architectural styles range from California Craftsman, Spanish Colonial, Tudor, English Cottage to Traditional. Boundaries: Washington Boulevard on the north, Mountain Avenue on the south, El Molina Street on the west, Lake Avenue on the east.

SCHOOLS
Home to a racially and economically mix population, Pasadena has some of the best educational institutions in the country, which includes: Fuller Theological Seminary, one of the largest multi-denominational seminaries in the world; The California School of Culinary Arts; the Art Center College of Design, which ranked as one of the top five art schools in the United States and one of the top 10 art schools worldwide; and California Institute of Technology, which maintains a strong emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering is ranked in the top 10 universities worldwide, among others. Pasadena’s Unified School District schools have experienced phenomenal API score growth in the last six years.